The Troubles in Northern Ireland Flashcards
where was the northern irish parliament
Storming outside Belfast
in which ways did the new Northern Irish state discriminate against Catholics
- Gerrymandering ( tampering with the elections to make sure that Unionists always won)
- multiple votes ( owners of property and business received additional votes)
- highly paid jobs didn’t go to catholics
- policing ( the royal ulster constabulary was almost exclusively protestant police force) it had part time special constabulary units such as the B Specials who were known for the violence against catholics
- catholic schools received less funding from the government
what did the British government include Northern Ireland in after WW11
it’s new welfare state which is a new programme of social spending by the government that made education and health care free to everyone, built more public housing and increased social welfare payments
what was one of the most important effects of the welfare state on Northern Ireland
it greatly expanded the funding available to catholic schools
when did Terence O’Neill become Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
1963
what did Terence O’Neill want
he wanted to create a fairer northern Ireland and “build bridges between the two communites”
what were O’Neill’s economic policies
he used tax breaks and grants to attract new industries and foreign businesses to the province ( however is was mainly protestant east so catholic west was still poor)
how did O’Neill try to improve relations with Catholics
- visiting catholic schools and hospitals
- ordered flags to be flown at half mast when the pope died
- met with Seán Lemass
why were some members of O’Neills party wary of his attempts to reconcile with Catholics
because they believed that this would undermine the position of the Unionists
What did Reverend Ian Paisley attack O’Neill for and what did he do
he attacked him for betraying the Union and Protestants of Northern Ireland
he launched an “O’Neill must go” campaign
who was a part of the new catholic and nationalist leaders that emerged in the late 60s
Gerry Fitt, John Hume, Austin Currie and Bernadette Devlin
when was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) formed and what were its demands
it was formed in 1967 and its demands were
- disband the B specials
- end discrimination in housing and employment
- allow one vote per person in local elections
- end gerrymandering
what was NICRA committed to
peaceful means to achieve change
what were the methods of NICRA
- organized marches
- petitions
- legal aid for people discriminated against
- boycotts of businesses
how did the Unionists respond to NICRAS methods
the RUC banned marches, claiming a risk of violence between NICRA and extreme Unionist counter marches led by Ian Paisley
what happened at a march that went ahead in 1968
it was attacked by the RUC and there was mass rioting and violent clashes between Catholic youths and the RUC
O’Neill was forced to resign by his party in April 1969 and was replaced by
James Chichester - Clark
What happened at the Battle of the Bogside
there were riots when a march led by the Unionist Apprentice Bous passed through the Catholic Bogside area of Derry. The rioters drove the RUC out of the bogside and raised barricades across the streets and declared the area “Free Derry”
what did the british government do to end the violence in belfast, where unionists were attacking catholic homes
ordered the British army into the streets
what is Terrorism
the use of fear and acts of violence to try and change society or government policy for a political or ideological purpose
what did the Provisional IRA do
carried out attacks on the RUC and the army, planted bombs in Britain and Northern Ireland, killed innocent civilians who they claimed were working for the British
what groups were set up on the Loyalist side
the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
what are loyalists
unionists who are willing to use paramilitary violence to defend the union
what did the loyalists do
they attacked catholic civilians as reprisals for IRA attacks
what was the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
a nationalist political party and was led first by Gerry Fitt and then John Hume
what did the SDLP want
to improve people’s lives
rejected the use of violence
who founded the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Ian Paisley
what did the DUP do
opposed any compromise with nationalist and demanded harsh measures to deal with IRA violence
what did the IRA do in 1971 and what did the army do in response
they carried out gun attacks on the security forces and organized youths in catholic areas to throw stones and riot
in response the army held house searched in these areas
when did Brian Faulkner introduce the policy of internment
august 1971
what is internment
the arrest and imprisonment of people without trial
why was faulkner’s policy of internment a disaster
- lots of innocent people were arrested while most of the IRA leaders escaped
- only catholics were arrested even though loyalists had been attacking catholic communities
what and when was Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland
30 January 1972
it was when NICRA organized a march to protest against interment in Derry. the British army was sent to the Bogside following reports of an IRA sniper. when catholic youths threw stones at an army barricade, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd
when was the stormont parliament suspended
march 1972
what was Willie Whitelaw appointed as
to act as Secretary of State in Northern Ireland
what did Whitelaw do after the elections took place
he invited the party leaders to talks
what did Whitelaw want to do
set up a power sharing government where nationalist and unionists would govern together
what were the terms of the Sunningdalr Agreement
- a power sharing executive would be established between the Unionist Party, the SDLP and the Alliance (small unionist party)
- A council of Ireland was to be set up, consisting of politicians from the North and the Republic. it would promote cross border cooperation in areas such as the economy, farming and policing
what did the oppostion of the Sunningdale agreement do
- the IRA continued the violence
- members of Faulkner’s own party and The DUP opposed power sharing with nationalist claiming it would lead to a united ireland
what did the Ulster Worker’s Council do in May 1974
organized a general strike where goods couldn’t be transported, factories were shut down and the electricity supply was shut off.
The executive resigned and the Sunningdale Agreement collapsed
what tactic did the IRA adopt within Britain and Northern Ireland
“spectaculars” which was staging large scale attacks on the British mainland to make Britain want to exit Northern Ireland e.g. the Birmingham Pub bombings
What did loyalist terrorist groups attacks intend
to terrify the catholic population e.g. the Dublin and Monaghan Bombigs
what were the hunger strikes
when prisoners in the Maze Prison wanted demanded political status so they went on hunger strike. Thatcher refused to concede to some of the strikers demands and 10 prisoners on hunger strike ( included bobby sands) died before the IRA called off the hunger strike
what is political status
to be treated as political prisoners rather than as ordinary criminals
what is hunger strike
refusing all food until demands were met
what was the Anglo Irish Agreement 1885
when Garret FitzGerald and Margaret Thatcher agreed to increase security cooperation and that the Republic would have a role in the running of Northern Ireland .
what did the Unionists do in opposition to the Anglo Irish Agreement
they staged huge demonstrations against it
what was the Downing Street Declaration 1993
it set out the terms for all party talks on the future of Nothern Ireland and only parties committed to peace could be involved
when did the IRA call a ceasefire and when did the Loyalist groups call their ceasefire
IRA - august 1994
Loyalist- october 1994
who were the main people in the direct talks
David Trimble, John Hume, Gerry Adams, Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair
what were the terms of the Good Friday Agreement
- power sharing between main political parties
- cross border bodies to link north and south
- republic would give up its constitutional claim on northern ireland
- release of IRA and loyalist prisoners from jail
- decommissioning (surrendering of weapons by terrorist groups)
- reform of the RUC and withdrawal of most british soldiers
who was elected first and Deputy first minister of Nothern Ireland
Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness
